Vaylon wrote:I would be interested in discussing the moral difference between a mercenary and an assassin, but I think that topic could use its own thread and an extra dose of reminding people to be civil in the process of discussing it.

Although I do think this topic could use some clarification OOCly, I'm pretty sure people are willing to get together to talk about it ICly.

Yay for debates! :)

CHAT - Sir Alexander Candelori: Truly a man is an abomination that does not dip his french fries into his chocolate frosty.Bryce flatly says, "Just fair warning: If one of those things webs me, I'm going to scream like a girl."You overhear the following rumor:"There's an old man that can sometimes be seen walking around with a trunk, rumor has it he takes it to the stables and gets naked in front of the horses before changing clothes from the trunk."You think to yourself, "Who could that old man be?"

I think that Mercenaries are kind of like bodyguards. They work to defend the lands on independant contracts but to DO so, they need training. Bodyguards have typically been trained by the organization they're in, as a perk of the job. I think that guild reputation points for training would be great; The money makers of the guild are the Artisans. Mercenaries are there to do the dirty work and there ought to be incentive to do so, such as training by the mercenary guild master.

Another thing I'd like to see is a recognition point cafeteria. In books and shows I've read and watched, mercenaries travel in bands and fight together, eat together, and protect one another. If we consider the first and last a done deal as a thing of the game, then why is it that they don't get a free meal after a hard day of completing contracts?

Money being given is kind of always a thing, they get their cut of the contract. But the whole brotherly kind of family feeling of a mercenary band doesn't really come through. There's no incentives to being a Mercenary, and I think converting the training to an honor based system would help a lot. Also, free meals.

Mercenaries aren't soldiers, I expect them to flee when things get tough, to fight dirty, and to do anything to make that money at the end of the day. But they also have their own family code of honor sort of deal.

Lun wrote:Another thing I'd like to see is a recognition point cafeteria. In books and shows I've read and watched, mercenaries travel in bands and fight together, eat together, and protect one another. If we consider the first and last a done deal as a thing of the game, then why is it that they don't get a free meal after a hard day of completing contracts?

Money being given is kind of always a thing, they get their cut of the contract. But the whole brotherly kind of family feeling of a mercenary band doesn't really come through. There's no incentives to being a Mercenary, and I think converting the training to an honor based system would help a lot. Also, free meals.

Mercenaries aren't soldiers, I expect them to flee when things get tough, to fight dirty, and to do anything to make that money at the end of the day. But they also have their own family code of honor sort of deal.

I like this idea. And Rakon is very much about food (listen to him complain about Ashdell's gate being shut sometime!), and the brother/sisterhood kind of aspect would make being a merc more fun. Granted, much of that is stuff that should be brought in via roleplay, but honestly, I don't know who a lot of Rakon's fellow mercs are, unless I see them with the adrenaline rush ability firing, or if they post to boards advertising their services. It would be super cool if the barracks had a mess hall where the mercs could buy food with guild points. It would give them a place to gather, like Lun said, to chow down after a hard day of work, and would definitely help with the 'bring the brother/sisterhood aspect in with RP' thing.

In the meantime, maybe mercs should, at least OOCly, make some effort to find their fellows, maybe do that whole banding together and roaming about the countryside... I know Rakon always needs help when Irwin tells him to go take out highwaymen. Arrows hurt!